going on five years now so to have something to play for at this point in the season is very exciting. >> i'llrobably think about the cowboys after we land. i think that's everybody's mindset. we're already onto the next one. you don't have to celebrate wins at this point in the season. you just know what's ahead of you and all that is for us right now is the cowboys. >> they know what it means. we've been working for this opportunity to win the division. talked about that from day one. they knew what we had to do to get there. we haven't accomplished anything yet. we have to win the division and obviously get it done next week. >> reporter: somehow some way mike shanahan has these guys believing. six straight wins. a chance to host a home playoff game at fedex field for the first time in 13 years. all they have to do is beat the cowboys on sunday. >> one other note for you. because of the importance of this game, the time of the redskins/cowboys matchup has changed. kickoff set for 8:20 on sunday night. the final game of the 2012

regular season. you can watch the redskins take on dallas on sunday right here on nbc 4. so great to see rg3 three back. he couldn't be the running threat he normally is with the brace on his knee but he still brought it. >> a good leader makes a difference. tom kierein is here to lead news the christmas holiday with what type of weather, tom? >> for this christmas eve may have rain coming in and in fact by noontime might start out as a bit of sleet in our western and northern suburbs looking at what's been going on for the last several hours. a lot of cloudiness over our region now. a few breaks in the clouds over the mountains. you can see those little patches of green there. those are areas of some light rain just now beginning to move into southwestern virginia, southern west virginia into kentucky and tennessee. it's advancing off to the north and east. it will take a while to get here. maybe around noontime may get sleet and maybe wet snowflakes

around the blueridge. temperatures are around freezing. reagan national at 32. up near the bay it's milder. we do have a freezing rain advisory and freezing rain warning. this is all of these areas in pink and areas in the lavender are under a winter weather advisory for an inch of snow and icing that will occur today as that system moves in. farther east we're not going to have any problems with this bit of sleet and maybe some wet snowflakes initially and it does look like we will have that beginning around noontime and then during the afternoon a bit of a blustery wind. we'll have that sleet mixing with some rain perhaps from time to time around our western northern suburbs. i'll be back with a look at what may happen this christmas eve in ten minutes. >> things are looking good right now on the interstates southbound 395 earlier accident has been removed. no delays.

northbound 95 in virginia looking good as you head in toward the beltway. let's take a live look at route 1. no serious problems there. 13-minute ride on northbound 95 from prince william parkway to the beltway at 56 miles an hour and we'll take a look at the beltway in our next hit. most federal employees have the day off from work this christmas eve thanks to president obama. he made the announcement on friday. last-minute shoppers can use metro to get around today and metro is operating on its regular weekday service. trains will be running until midnight tonight and tomorrow trains and buses will operate on a sunday schedule. that's from 7:00 a.m. until midnight. a longtime republican senator is apologizing for a drunk driving arrest. police say alaex andreandria po arrested idaho senator michael

crapo. crapo says that he made a mistake and accepts responsibility for what happened. he's due in court next month. the head of the nra defends some controversial remarks about gun control made in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at sandy hook elementary. he sticks by his statement where he says the tragedy could have been prevented if every school has armed guards. >> it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children then call me crazy. i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. it's the one thing that would keep people safe and the nra is going to try to do that. >> he sat down with "meet the press" david gregory yesterday and the first time he's taken questions. many called the comments out of touch. the shooting at sandy hook sparked a new debate on gun control after a man shot 20 children and six adults ten days ago. that debate was evident throughout the washington area

over the weekend. a small but vocal group of gun control advocates showed up outside a gun shop in falls church calling for a ban on assault style weapons and ammunition and more funding for mental health programs. the nra's push to put armed guards in schools across the country has people talking. >> i actually would not have felt safer. i think i would have felt more in harm's way. i just don't agree with guns in general. >> it's just dumbfounding to think the answer to violence is to put the weapons of more violence in the hands of people. >> police were there for the protest although it remained a peaceful one. 4:35 right now. if you are still looking for the perfect present for your loved ones, time is almost up. there are some people that haven't finished all their shopping. a survey shows that more than 130 million people have not finished shopping. and whopping 26 million people haven't even started. shoppers say it's because they are still hunting for the best

deals. >> try to come at the end so you get good stuff. >> it's more fun to do it at the end. >> i know who i need to buy for but not what i'm buying yet. >> more fun to do it -- what? procrastinators are getting help this year. malls were open for longer hours this past weekend with toys "r" us and macy's staying open around the clock. >> some people must get a rush. i was at the mall yesterday and it was not fun. the line to see santa, wrapped around the whole court. >> i went to the mall yesterday which i never do. it wasn't crazy but there were a lot of people out there. good luck today, folks, anyone who has to go out and do it. >> good morning, everyone. time right now 4:36. ahead on "news4 today," an american is killed in afghanistan this morning why it's described as a surprise attack and how the shooter is being described. mitt romney's son talks about his father's campaign for president. what he said that left many people confused. what parts of our viewing area will see only rain today and who could see more of a

wintry mix? that's ahead. st

all right. it's finally christmas eve and once again this year you can track st. nick's progress. a santa tracker is set up and right now santa is preparing for his big launch. this is video from santa's trip

around the world last year and they promise up to the minute reports and even pictures from key stops on santa's trip. we'll have a link for you on our website, nbcwashington.com. always fun for the kiddos. >> if you think santa was moving fast there, a lot more kids in the world these days. you have to get on it and make it happen quick. >> he and his elves have been very busy. will they have a clear flight? for more on that we go to meteorologist tom kierein. >> it doesn't matter because rudolph has radar in his nose now. this morning we have low cloud cover over our region. clouds will be with us for the morning hours. might get a few breaks in the clouds perhaps around 8:00, 9:00 this morning and then cloudy the rest of the day. right now it's cold. we're below freezing across virginia, maryland, into west virginia except right near the waters. reagan national at 32. montgomery county near 30. it's in the upper 20s near 30 in fairfax county and arlington and prince george's county near the freezing mark.

away from the waters upper 20s. shenandoah valley out of the mountains too many location there is in the 20s. also with e have a winter weath advisory in effect. icing and inch of snow in western maryland and in the highlands of west virginia through the day today. east of there no problems. here is how we're looking hour by hour throughout the day today. a cold, calm start 6:00 a.m. temperatures below freezing and then by noontime maybe upper 30s to around 40 but we may get sleet mixing in with some light rain and may initially start as sleet changing to rain and maybe a few isolated wet snowflakes generally our western northern suburbs and then changing to all rain later this afternoon. we'll be reaching the low 40s maybe around 2:00, 3:00. this evening for this christmas eve, yes, hopefully rudolph has windshield wipers because it looks like rain. chilly rain tonight but all above freezing. we'll be hovering near 40 degrees through the evening. a look at the rest of the week

into the weekend and a couple more storms may come our way coming up in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with mike. good morning, mike. >> good morning. things are looking good on the interstates. no reports of any serious accidents out there right now. let's take a look at the beltway in maryland. things are looking good on inner loop and outer loop. a live look right near new hampshire avenue. no serious delays there. and here we are just east of 270 everything is looking great right now in each direction. it's about a 11-minute ride from the outer loop. still to come, celebrating christmas around the world including the pope's message this holiday season. why an area boat renting service has been around since the 1940s is in danger

[ singing christmas carols in background ] aunt sally's singing again. it's a tradition, honey. [ singing christmas carols ] mmmm. [ female announcer ] make new traditions with pillsbury grands! cinnamon rolls. [ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. everything has to be just right. perfection is in the details. ♪ get to holiday fun faster with pillsbury cookie dough.

15 before the hour right now. the hope will spend this christmas eve with his brother before conducting the annual midnight mass at st. peter's basilica. he offered christmas greetings in a variety of languages to spectators in st. peter's square. he encouraged people to seek silence and meditation and offered a blessing in spanish as well. breaking news overseas this morning. an afghan police spokesperson says an american has been killed by an afghan policewoman. this happened at the kabul police headquarters and the victim is described as a u.s. adviser. it's not clear yet if the person was military personnel or a civilian. police have also have not said if the shooting was intentional or intent accidental. an investigation into the apparent suicide of an elite

commander in afghanistan. job price was commanding officer of navy s.e.a.l. team four assisting in the training of afghan police officers. a military official told cnn there's no indication price was involved in any investigation or controversy. he is survived by his wife and daughter. ♪ a formal good-bye for the late senator daniel inouye yesterday. he was the second longest serving senator in u.s. history representing the state of hawaii for 50 years. he died of respiratory complications last monday. mitt romney's oldest son is raising eyebrows this morning about comments he made about his father's run for the presidency.

tagg romney claims he would have been ecstatic to step aside if he cld have found someone else to take his place. tagg worked as an advisory on his father's 2012 campaign and also helped with previous campaigns. 13 before the hour. lawmakers are trying to get a deal done before the end of the year to avoid a fiscal cliff. congress is not expected to return to work until thursday. the same goes for president obama who will spend christmas in hawaii. that leaves them just five days to get a deal done to avoid steep tax hikes and spending cuts. senators on both sides of the aisle say both parties need to compromise to avoid a potential econom disaster. >> my one bit of advice to speaker boehner is this. you can't pass a bill with just republicans. on a broad thing like this, you need both. >> ronald reagan model is if you get 80% of what you want, that's a good day. we have the same objective of

lower taxes. i like simpson-bowles. put money on the debt. tax rate hikes are partisan solution driven by the president but he'll get tax rate hikes. >> some lawmakers say that no deal will get done by the end of the year. the second victim of a shooting in northeast washington has died. beasley was found shot in the early hours of saturday morning. harris was found lying in the road nearby and pronounced dead at the scene. police are offering a $25,000 reward for information that helps them solve this case. a fixture on the potomac river since the 1940s could be closing. jack's boathouse has been renting canoes for decades. the national park service owns that land and recently notified the tenant by letter that he had to vacate by the end of january.

>> found just a form letter saying we were terminated and had to be out in 30 days. >> he says he started notifying boat owners and 27 employees who would be let go in the boathouse closes. fans of jack's boathouse started a facebook page to try to save the landmark. the mars rover is about to do something never done before on the red planet. it will begin searching for rocks to drill. right now curiosity is scouring in that ditch providing information to nasa back on earth. it is also so the rover can collect a drilled sample to analyze which will be a first for this mission. wednesday marks the eighth anniversary of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit south asia. that controversy killed more than 226,000 people. more than 50,000 bodies have never been recovered.

thailand will mark the day with a vigil. since the disaster hit in 2004, millions of dollars have been allocated to seismic and tsunami information centers. parts of california will have a white christmas. make that an extremely white christmas. the sierra, nevada, got pounded with snow all weekend long causing poor driving conditions. it shut down vital interstate 80 forcing holiday travel to detail through residential areas. further south the snow turned to rain prompting flash flood warnings. i used to live in california and go snowboarding. it was fake snow down at big bear. this is a lot different. >> boy, i tell you, tom is here. a lot of folks like to have a dusting and coating of white stuff. >> conversational. >> we may have a few wet snowflakes floating down in the sky maybe late morning around noontime today. then maybe a little bit of a wintry mix after that.

we'll have a bit of that feeling in the air. right now it's just cloudy, cold and calm around our region. as you look at the satellite radar, that area of green is a zone of some rain right now it is raining very lightly in southwestern virginia. farther south of there more moderate rain eastern tennessee into parts of georgia and also getting light rain in kentucky. this is all advancing off to the north and east. we'll keep an eye on this as it does approach us. we'll get a wintry mix west and north of because right now it's cold. temperatures are locked in the 20s to around 30 degrees. most of maryland, most of virginia, the eastern shore, except right near the waters and around the bay it's above freezing. in the mountains it's cold. near 20 degrees. much of western maryland and much of west virginia. let's take a look at what may be happening here. this area in lavender is a zone of potential sleet and wet snow. this is as of noon. that would be coming up the shenandoah valley along the

blueridge but not into washington yet. during the afternoon this is by 3:00 p.m., our western northern suburbs may get that wet snow and sleet mixing in. pavement temperatures will be above freezing. whatever is wintry precipitation will melt quickly on roadways. that will quickly move to the north and east and exit by midnight tonight. by christmas day, a partly sunny sky. here comes another storm system coming in on wednesday. leading edge of that may again be some sleet and snow out in the shenandoah valley as of 7:00 wednesday morning. during the day on wednesday most of that precipitation north of washington and moderate rain coming in by wednesday afternoon into wednesday evening. could get another one on saturday. right now out in the mountains we do have a freezing rain advisory and winter weather advisory for some light icing and snow. that's for today. and that's going to be the story here maybe a little bit of sleet

and perhaps wet snowflakes noontime and during the afternoon changing over to all rain as we hover near 40 degrees. and then on christmas day partly sunny. morning lows mid 30s. afternoon highs upper 40s. a mix changing to rain here on wednesday and then thursday partly sunny and back to the upper 40s and then on friday partly cloudy into the mid 40s and morning lows freezing. over the weekend another wintry mix type of storm does look like perhaps on saturday and then clearing out on sunday. i'll be back in ten minutes. a look at your traffic now, here's mike. >> good morning, tom. things are looking good on the interstates. no reports of any serious problems. let's take a look at 66 in virginia. things are looking great as you make the trip east here we are at sully road. no serious problems. traffic on the right is eastbound side. 12-minute ride from 286 to the beltway. and inside the beltway at glebe road barely seeing cars. nine-minute ride from 495 to

glebe. >> thanks. time is 4:54. coming up, how to avoid a holiday headache. who should y

>> the holidays can be a headache. researchers at georgetown say adults are more prone to headaches this time of year.

they blame things like a change in schedules, eating and drinking habits and an increase in responsibility. how do you prevent headaches? doctors say you get plenty of rest of course. have a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you drink so keep that gallon beside you and if you can, try to squeeze in some gym time as well. also you can try some neck stretches and hot showers to ease muscle tension. >> a new survey says over 60% of people say tipping is part of their holiday tradition. that's according to consumer reports. most people surveyed say they tip whoever delivers the newspaper, the mechanic, the hairdresser and the mailman. some say they go as far as to find a holiday gift for a teacher. who is the least tipped person? >> the least tipped by the way were garbage collectors. only 10% of people said they tip their garbage collectors. >> the tip doesn't have to be a monetary gift just a sincere

thanks will do and say thanks to police officers, firemen, the medics this holiday season and all those people that do great service in our communities. it's funny. we were talking about the story. i was talking about how my parents always leave a tin full of cookies for garbage collectors at our house. >> it's the thought that counts. i want to tip my dry cleaner. the ladies in there, my clothes are perfect. i can't figure out what's appropriate there for something like that. tweet me if you have ideas on that one. >> maybe just a simple thank you. >> i'll do that for sure. >> give her a signed autograph. >> nobody wants that. >> that's what i want for christmas. >> all right. today santa is going extreme. this afternoon st. nick will strap on the water skis for the 27th annual santa ride on the river at national harbor. this is video of last year's event. as always he'll bring around his

knee boarding reindeer and flying elves. families can also check out national harbor's massive 65-foot christmas tree boasting more than 200,000 lights. santa is set to take off on the water around 1:00 p.m. >> a city in northern portugal could be home to the world's largest santa. it's illuminated by 250,000 l.e.d. lights and took 17 trucks, two cranes and eight days to get this santa seated there. construction took more than three years. this massive santa will light the city until january 7th. >> wow. those are some boots. to put this in perspective, the lincoln memorial here is about 100 feet. this is 98 feet. just imagine the lincoln memorial as santa. >> jolly old elf sitting up there. >> how long do you keep it up for? >> just through the 7th